Shale Gas Drilling Rules Near Passage in Pa. Legislature

Pennsylvania House Republicans and Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf are working to end years of debate over an update of environmental rules for oil and gas drilling that two regulatory boards approved this spring.

Lawmakers are poised to allow a batch of the so-called Chapter 78 rules for shale gas drillers to become law while directing regulators to start over on writing a companion set of criteria for smaller conventional oil and gas operations. Opponents said the rules were improperly written and too onerous for the smaller operations…